UFO hunters claim to have found evidence that backs up a 48-year-old myth that there is a massive unnatural spire bursting out from the surface of the moon.

Alien chasers have posted a video to YouTube which says the "spire" was found using Google Moon - a version of Google Earth that allows users to explore the lunar surface.

YouTube channel Mexicogeek made the discovery and posted the video, which has been pounced on by Scott C Waring, editor of UFO Sightings Daily as proof of a myth dating back to the original moon landings.

He posted: "This is the legendary spire on Earth's moon.

"It's been seen before in 1967 Orbiter 3 photos.

"This spire is 3.64 miles tall according to Google ruler, but it is only an estimate.

"It may be off as much as half a mile more or less."

UFO hunters have debated since 1967 what a number of so-called anomalies in NASA images of the moon could be.

Mr Waring appears to be referring to an object that has become known as the Shard in the 1960s pictures.

Related articles

Google has to "bolt" images together like this to create its full 360 degree satellite maps, so says occasional anomalies and optical illusions will occur.

A user called Bestidea posted: "If you actually change the images in this coordinate from visible imagery to Lunar orbiter imagery in Google Earth, you can see that this 'tower' does not exist and it is actually a double impact crater, a big one and a smaller one just at the edge of the bigger one, and is an optical illusion."

Chris Raymond added: "Many towers and 'Allen bases' are actually flat patterns that can be imagined as a 3D object.

"This website needs a healthy dose of sceptical analysis on these posts before being put up as definite proof of ufo and alien entities."

Michael Dougherty said: "Scott is doing HARM to the ufology community. He really seems like a little kid."

But Amanda Simko was impressed.

She said: "So are these new images of the spire in the exact same place as the previous lunar orbiter pictures?

"Why does it look so uniform in the new pics and all blurry and splotchy in the older ones?

"Both sets of pics are amazing."

An anonymous poster added: "Could it be that tower is a watching place to monitor Earth?"